Good food connects us, eating together keeps us healthy – if we put the right things on our plates. Sometimes the day seems too short to cook extensively for the whole family. How do you save time and stimulate healthy eating behavior in the family?
Food and eating play an important role in our social life. Whether we are celebrating a birthday, a wedding, a religious holiday or a good report: there is always food involved. “Food is a social lubricant”, says behavioral researcher and initiator of health platform LeefstijlLab Dr Roel Hermans. “During dinner, the most beautiful conversations often arise, also around the family table. We go over the day together, tell what we have experienced or what concerns us. Ideally, the family meal is a moment to ‘feel’ each other without distraction and in all intimacy.”
Eating together is good for our well-being and makes us closer as a family. Yet eating together is only really healthy if we also pay attention to what is on the table, says dietician Natacha Van der Auwrmeulen. “One of the factors in the obesity wave is that we no longer take the time to sit at the table in a healthy and calm way. We quickly reach for junk food or a takeaway with ‘lack of time’ as an argument. I see that more as an excuse. In the 20 to 30 minutes that you are queuing at the kebab shop or waiting for sushi in your chair, you can conjure up a perfectly healthy meal with chips, vegetables and a piece of fish or meat, or a vegetarian alternative.”
Perhaps we sometimes expect a bit too much from a freshly prepared meal, the nutritionist believes. “The bar in the kitchen is set high these days. But you really don’t always have to cook very exotic, regular farm fare will do just fine. A golden tip for those who want to save time: keep it simple. Buy a bag of pre-cut vegetables or take some chicken cubes from the freezer, put some whole wheat noodles in hot water, throw everything together in the wok and you are eating in fifteen minutes. Do you work from home? In that case, prepare some vegetables and potatoes during your lunch break. Turn on the steamer half an hour before dinner time, at the limit slide a piece of fish into the oven, and you’re done.”
By involving children in meal preparation, they gain more and better food skills.
If you are literally a bit hungry with the normal daily fare, then healthy meal boxes at home can be a nice change, says Van der Auwrmeulen. “You don’t always save time or money with it, but you often get cooking inspiration from it. The portions are also quite precisely sized, so you won’t overeat yourself. Another great idea: bake fresh pizzas with the kids. That is not only cozy, but also a lot healthier than pizzas made to order. If you have some leftover vegetables, make pizza sandwiches the next morning. You immediately have a healthy lunch for the lunch box.”
From a behavioral perspective, it is always a good plan to involve children in preparing the meal, says Dr Hermans. “We see that children develop more and better food skills as a result. They will take that with them if they later move into a room and have to cook their own pot.” A rule of thumb for parents who want to teach their child to eat healthy is that they themselves set a good example, says the behavioral researcher. “Whoever expects his child to put his mobile phone or iPad away during dinner should not check his e-mails all the time. It is unfair to make agreements with your child that you do not keep yourself.”
Good agreements and a clear plan are indeed essential for behavioral change, emphasizes Dr Hermans. “Remind yourself of your intentions too, otherwise they will disappear into the delusion of the day. Hang a board in the kitchen with the division of labor at dinner and put together a shopping list for the coming week on Sunday. Stick a scribble on the fridge that dinner will be eaten together in the evening or create a WhatsApp group. Routine is the key to a healthy lifestyle: in a family that regularly eats together, it is also good in many other areas.”